Piston



NW. 15, 1927. 3mm

L. VINGHEROETS PISTON Original Filed April 13, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l Alg e] Wm. M, 1927. LMQMUS 1.. VHNGHEROETS PISTON Original Filed April 13, 1925 2 skew-sheet 2 Qwuantoz 400/5 mam/11570575 Patented Nov. 15, 1927,

N'ITED STATES nouisvmqnnnonrs, or GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN,

PISTON.

Application filed April 13, 1925, Serial no. 22,822. Renewed Se tember 7,1927.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in pistons, and has more particular reference to an expansible piston for internal combustion engines and the like.

When a piston becomes worn and fits loosely in its cylinder, it causes chattering and slapping so that the piston is scrapped and replaced by a new one. These pistons are expensive and the installation of the same is a costly operation. Furthermore, many pistons are scrapped in the factories when made too small, thus representing a further great waste of material and labor.

The primary object of the present invention, therefore, is to overcome the above pis- .ton chattering and slapping and waste of material and labor by providing a piston which can be quickly expanded or adjusted to fit its cylinder.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved piston of the above character which can be adjusted without removing the piston from its cylinder.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved piston of the above kind which will be durable and efficient in use, simple and easy to manufacture and Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a piston constructed in accordance with the present invention Figure 2 is a substantially central longitudinal sectional view taken substantially upon the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the piston looking toward the inner end of the latter, and

Figure 4: is a transverse section taken substantlally upon line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Referring more in detail to the drawings,

the present piston consists of a cylindrical body closed at its outer end by means of an end wall 5 and open at its inner end, and the piston includes an outer end portion 6 capable of being placed upon the market atprovided with circumferential external grooves 7 for reception of packing rings in the usual Way, and an inner, elongated skirt portion 8 provided with the usual spaced transversely aligned bearing sleeves 9 for reception of the ends of a wrist pin, not shown.

The piston. isprovided with a pair of circurnferentially extending opposed slots 9 coincident with the point of connection between the piston portions 6 and 8. The

slots 9 thus serve to partially se ver the skirt portion 8 from the piston ring carrying portion. 6, and each slot is of a length to extend from one side of one of the bearing sleeves 9 to the adjacent side of the other bearing sleeve 9 so that the skirt portion- 8 is left integrally connected with the outer port-1011 6 ad acent one bearing sleeve 9 as indicated at 10. j

The skirt portion 8 is provided with a pair of outwardl diverging oblique slots 11 at opposite si es of buta'djacent to the other bearing sleeve 9, and the outer ends of the oblique slots 11 terminate in communication with the adjacent end portions of the circumferential slots 9, while the inner adjacent ends of the oblique'slots 11 are connected by a relatively short transversely or circumferentially extending slot 12. The inner ends of the oblique slots 11 and the connecting slot 12 thereof are disposed in a transverse plane between the inner end of the piston and the bearing sleeves 9, and a longitudinal slot 13 is provided in the skirt portion 8 extending from the inner edge of the latter to the intermediate portion of the slot 12 sothat the slot 13; is

disposed coincident with a longitudinal 5 plane intersecting the axes of the sleeves 9.

The before mentioned other bearing sleeve 9 is thus carried by a substantially keystone shaped portion 14 which is severed from the skirt portion 8 and integrally connected with the outer piston ring carrying portion 6 as indicated at 15.

From the above description it will be seen that the skirt portion '8 of the piston is thus slit at one side so that the same may be expanded Without affecting the normal proper position of the bearing sleeves 9.

The skirt portion 8 is provided with an internal enlargemeiit 16 which is centrally divided into longitudinal half sections by means of the slot 13, and this enlargement is provided with a longitudinal tapering llO bore as clearly shown in Figure 2, while the inner end of this enlargement is externally tapered as is also shown in the latter figure. The bearing sleeve carrying portion 14 is provided with a boss 17 at the inner side of its bearing sleeve, and a stud screw 18 is arranged longitudinally of the piston with its outer end secured in the boss 17 and with the stud screw projecting inwardly through the bore of the enlargement .16. Threaded on the inner end of the stud screw 18 is a conical plug 19 which projects into the bore of the enlargement 16, and disposed upon the conical plug 19 is a frustroconical cap 20 fitting over the tapered end of the enlargement 16. A nut 21 is threaded upon the inner end of the plug 19 so as to be operated for forcing the cap 20 out wardly, and the inner end of the plug 19 may be provided with a kerf 22 whereby said plug may be turned with facility by means of a screw driver or the like. A spacing washer equal in thickness to the width of the slot 12 is disposed in the latter between the adjacent ends of the boss 17 and the enlargement 16. The washer 23 is maintained in place by being disposed upon the stud screw 18, and this washer functions to eliminate any lateral flexing of the portion 14 which carries one of the bearing sleeves 9.

Ears 24 are provided internally on the outer portion 6 of the piston at the point adjacent the connected ends of the slots 9 or the ends of said slots 9 which are connected by the slots 11 and 12, and the skirt portion 8 is provided with further cars 25, each of which is aligned with one of the ears 24 and is provided with a radially elongated opening or slot. A cap screw S is disposed to extend loosely through each of the ears 25 and is threaded in the adjacent ear 24, while a washer 26 is disposed between the cooperating ears 24 and 25 and in the adjacent portions of the slots 9. The use of the washers 26 insures expansion of the outer portion of the skirt portion 8 to a similar degree as the same is expanded adjacent the inner end of the skirt, and a washer 27 may also be disposed on each cap screw S at the inner end of the adjacent ear 25 for permitting free rotation of said cap screw.

To reduce the liability of the skirt portion 8 warping or expanding unevenly, the latter is preferably provided with an internal rib 28 extending circumfeientially of the piston at the inner side of the slot 12 or inwardly of the latter, the rib 28 extending entirely around the skirt portion 8 from one Section of the enlargement 16 to the other section of the latter. 29 indicates an internal reenforcing rib or web sometimes employed in conventional types of piston Assuming that the present piston has been In use and has become loose in its cylinder,

the skirt portion of the same may be readily expanded without removing the piston from the cylinder upon removal of the oil pan portion of the engine crank case. \Vhcn this is done a wrench may be readily applied to the nut 21 for loosening the same whereby the conical cap 20 may be retracted to partially disengage from the conical inner end of the enlargement 16. A screw driver is then engaged with the inner end of the plug 19 so that the latter may be threaded on to the stud screw 18, and when this is done the plug 19 will act to force the sections of the enlargement 16 apart, and thereby expand the skirt portion 8 into tight engagement with the cylinder, it being of course understood that the cap screws S have been previously loosened to permit this operation and allow uniform expansion of the skirt portion 8. The loose fitting of the cap screws S in the openings or slots of the cars 25 permit this expansion of the skirt portion 8, and when the desired adjustment has been made, the cap screws S will be tightened for securing the outer free end portions of the skirt 8 in adjusted position. The nut 21 is then threaded onto the plug 19 so as to force the cap 20 into tight engagement with the tapered end of the enlargement 16 for securing the adjustment which has been made at this point or at the inner portion of the skirt portion 8. Any suitable means may be provided for preventing accidental turning of the parts 19, 21 and S such as cotter plns, lock nuts or the like.

From the foregoing description it is believed that the operation and construction as well as the advantages of the present invention will be readily understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art.

What I claim as new is:

1. A piston including an inner skirt portion and an outer packing carrying portion integrally connected, said piston having opposed circumferential slots at the points of connection between said portions and further slots connecting adjacent ends of the first named slots and extending to the inner edge of the skirt portion whereby the latter is divided longitudinally for permitting its lateral expansion uniformly from end to end, means adjacent the inner end of the skirt portion for manually facilitating expansion of the latter, and means at the inner and outer end portions of the skirt portion for securing the latter in expanded condition.

2. A iston including an inner skirt portion an an outer packing carrying portion integrally connected, said piston having opposed circumferential slots at the points of connection between said portions and further slots connecting adjacent ends of the first named slots and extending to the inner edge of the skirt portion whereby the latter is divided longitudinally for permitting its I skirt portion for manually facilitatin latera1- expansion uniformly from end to end, means adjacent the inner end of the expansion of the latter, and means at the inner and outer end portions of the skirt portion for securing the latter in expanded condition, wrist pin bearing sleeves carried by the skirt portion to opposite sides of which the first named slots are disposed, said further slots embodying a pair of slots disposed at opposite sides of one of the bearing sleeves in outwardly divergin relation..

3. A piston embodying an outer piston ring carrying portion and an inner skirt portion longitudinally slit and partially severed from theouter portion of the piston so as to be laterally expansible relative to the latter, and manually operable means positioned internally of the piston adjacent the inner end of the skirt portion for facilitating expansion of the latter, said skirt expanding means comprising a split enlargement on the skirt having a tapering bore, a screw fixed to the piston and extendin through the bore of the enlargement, an a tapered plug threaded on the'screw within the bore of the enlar 'ement.

4. piston embodying an outer piston ring carrying portion and an inner skirt portion longitudinally slit and partially severed from the outer portion of the piston so as to be laterally expansible relative to the latter, and manually operable means positioned internally of the piston adjacent the inner end of the skirt ortion for facilitating expansion of the atter, said skirt expanding means comprising a split enlargement on the skirt having a tapering bore, a

screw fixed to the iston and extending ly, a conical cap fitting over the innerend of the enlargement, and means carried by the plug for forcing the cap into tight engagement with the tapered end of the enlargement for preventin accidental expansion of the skirt portion a ter being adjusted.

5. A piston embodying an outer piston ring carryin portion and an inner skirt portion longitu inally slit and partially severed from the outer portion of the piston so as to be laterally expansible relative to the latter, and manually operable means positioned internally in the piston adjacent the inner end of the skirt portion for facilitating expansion of the latter, said skirt expanding means comprising a spli-tenlargement on the skirt having a tapering bore, ascrew fixed to the piston and extending through the bore of the enlargement, and a tapered plug threaded on the screw within the bore of the enlargement, said enlargement having its "inner end tapered externally, aconical cap fitting over the inner endof the enlargement, and means carried by the plug for forcing the cap into tight engagement with the tapered end of the enlargementfor preventing accidental expansion of the skirt portion after being adjusted, the means for adjusting the conical cap embodying a nut threaded upon the plu j I p In testimony whereo? I afiix my signature.

LOUIS vmeimnon'rs. 

